AMC's 'The Walking Dead' set a viewer record Sunday in a big night for cable shows. / Gene Page, AMC

by Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

by Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

AMC's The Walking Dead and HBO's Game of Thrones, sharing the same time slot, each set series viewing records, while the two-hour finale of History's The Bible was up 14% over the previous week and nipped Dead by a fraction in their overlapping hour.

Dead's Season 3 finale set records in viewers (12.4 million) and advertiser-prized young adults; it was the top show of the night in both categories. It is the season's top show, broadcast or cable, in young adults (ages 18-to-49). Talking Dead, the chat show that follows Walking Dead, also set a series record with 5.2 million viewers.

Game of Thrones opened its third season with a record 4.4 million viewers, up 4% from the Season 2 finale (4.2 million) and 13% from the Season 2 premiere (3.9 million).

The Bible closed its five-week run on Easter Sunday with 11.7 million viewers. In the 60-minute overlap with Walking Dead, when The Bible focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it attracted 12.33 million viewers to 12.29 million for Walking Dead.